


Little Brother

by Littlebellepepper



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Child Abandonment, Child Neglect, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, F/F, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Mild Language, Toni Centered
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2019-12-25 15:50:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18264497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Littlebellepepper/pseuds/Littlebellepepper
Summary: If this was any other Friday night the two girls would be wrapped up in each other sucking down a couple of milkshakes and sharing a plate of curly fries. But after Thomas’s call, Toni's only thoughts were about him as she raced down the interstate to Centerville.Toni gets an unexpected call that forces her into a difficult situation.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote part of this over the summer, so I'm not considering anything that's happened in Season 3 to be involved in this fic, however, they are in their Junior year. I really just wanted to dive more into Toni and take what we know and fill in the blanks a little. 
> 
> Enjoy!

In the frying pan bologna bubbled and as a spatula pressed down, steam escaped out the sides. Grease snapped at Toni as she flipped the meat onto a paper towel.

“How many pieces do you want?” Toni said as she spread mayo over some bread.

Thomas was hunched over a chapter book reading it aloud at the kitchen table, without looking up he replied, “Three.” Toni put the sandwich together on to a stryofoam plate. The timer on the stove beeped.

“You can stop reading if you want. Give me your reading log so I can sign it,” Toni said as she placed the plate next to the young boy. He shuffled through loose papers shoved in his backpack and pulled out a crumpled wad, then ironed it out over the edge of the table. “What else you got left to do?” Toni said. He scanned the scribbled notes written across his arm.

“That should be it. I finished everything else on the bus,” Thomas said.

“Chill. Go take a bath after you eat,” Toni said. Thomas was already stuffing the sandwich into his mouth. Toni dropped onto the wooden chair next to her brother, leaning over she sighed and rubbed her eyes. Her phone vibrated underneath the scattered papers.

‘im done waiting … im going home’

“Shit.”

Another text flashed on the screen. ‘call me. now.’ She did.

“Two hours, Toni. I waited on you for two hours. You better have a good excuse for standing me up,” Cheryl said. She would have been louder, but Toni could hear the muffled chatter of the other patrons at Pop’s Diner; if this was any other Friday night the two girls would be wrapped up in each other, sucking down a couple of milkshakes, and sharing a plate of curly fries. But after Thomas’s call, her only thoughts were about him as she raced down the interstate to Centerville.

“Look, babe. There was a family emergency,” Toni said. She could hear the chime of Pop’s door over the phone. “I forgot to call. I’m sorry.”

“Oh,” Her tone softened. “Is everything okay? Do you need me to come over?” Thomas was lapping up the grease that ran down his arm from his sandwich.

“No, you don’t have to do that. I’ve got everything under control,” Toni said. “I have to go. Come over tomorrow if you want. I’m at my Grandfather’s trailer.” They said their goodnights when she hung up she pressed the phone hard on her forehead, hoping for some kind of relief from the pulsing headache. Thomas got up to throw away his plate.

“When do you think my mom will come back?”

“I don’t know, man,” Toni said. “I’ll start calling again in a minute.”

“I hope she doesn’t,” Thomas mumbled as he shuffled down the dark hallway, hand gliding over the handicap bar. She sighed, reaching into her back pocket to pull out a worn down piece of notebook paper filled with the numbers of the county’s hospitals, police stations, and morgues. She picked her phone back up to run through the list again.


	2. Chapter 2

There was a knock at the door.

“Just push it open,” Toni said. Cheryl walked in and placed her purse on the antlers on the wall by the door among various keys and Toni’s leather jacket. “When I said tomorrow I didn’t mean so early,” Toni yawned, she sat up on the sofa and pulled the blanket tighter around herself.

“Toni, it’s already nine o’clock. I swear, you waste the day sleeping in like this,” Cheryl said before staining Toni’s cheek with a kiss. She took a look around the decrepit trailer at the papers still scattered on the table; frying pan sitting on the stove and dishes stack in the sink; and an overturned basket of laundry covering the recliner needing the be folded. Cheryl headed straight for the sink and started to run the water.

There was only one bedroom in the trailer which sat in the back at the end of the hallway that doubled as a laundry room. Thomas was sprawled out on top of the naked mattress; she meant to throw the sheets in the dryer after school, but it never happened along with some other chores. She poked his side.

“Get up,” Toni said, but he only moaned and rolled closer to the wall. She poked him again. This time he sat up. “I’m going to make you some breakfast,” Toni said. “Get dressed Cheryl’s here.”

“I want waffles. With cinnamon please,” Thomas said as he reached for a t-shirt laying on the ground. Cheryl was rinsing soap off the last of the forks when Thomas walked up and stuck his head under the running water. He shook his head like a dog then ran a comb through it taming his dark curls.

“Who are you?” Cheryl said. “Toni?” Toni came out, mouth foaming with toothpaste.

“Oh, that’s Thomas my brother,” Toni said with her head tilted up, so the spit and toothpaste wouldn’t spill out of her mouth. “I’m going to watching him until his mom comes back.” She spat into the sink and dipped her mouth under the faucet to rinse. Toni took the frying pan from the drying rack, still wet, and placed it back on the stove.

 

“Is it possible for you to share a little more details on this situation?” Cheryl said looking over the bills and homework that covered the kitchen table, ironing everything out, and separating it all into neat piles, so she would have a clean table to set for breakfast.

“My mom’s been missing for a few days,” Thomas said pulling at the string to tighten the waist of his baggy shorts. Toni ripped open a pack of frozen waffles placing a couple on the hot pan. When it began to brown she flipped it onto a plate and sprinkled cinnamon on top. Cheryl began laying out a spread of fixings for the waffles: peanut butter, butter, syrup, and some fruit she chopped. Thomas swiped a steaming waffle from the stack, juggling it between his hands and tossed it onto a plate set out on the table. Then he spooned out a glob of peanut butter plopping it onto his waffle then drowned it in maple syrup.

“Cheryl’s family makes that syrup,” Toni said placing the stack of warmed waffles on the placemat Cheryl laid out in the middle of the table. Thomas grabbed another, smashing it on top and ate it as a sandwich.

“Miss Butterworth’s better,” Thomas said with a full mouth and took another bite. Cheryl gave a tight lipped smile then turned her attention to her own plate and cut into the waffle, dabbing a piece into a dish of maple syrup.  
“Slow down before you choke,” Toni said taking the seat in-between the two at the round table. The meal was relatively quiet; Cheryl every now and again broke the silence with a question to Thomas about school or friends, but she only received a limited response and Toni was too sucked into her own thoughts to add much to the conversation.

“What is your plan?” Cheryl said as she wiped down the sticky table.

“Same one as always. Make sure he’s watered and gets plenty of sun,” Toni said with a soft laugh as towel dried the pan.

“This isn’t funny, Toni. What are you going to do if she doesn’t come back? What about school? He’s from Centerville that’s more an hour away. Where is he going to go when you go to work? Are you going to share the couch with him when your grandfather comes back?”

“Can you stop?” She slammed the cabinet door harder than intended. “She always comes back. My job right now is to keep that kid’s life as close to normal as possible. If his school finds out, DCFS will take him away from me and he’ll just get tossed around the system.” Cheryl’s heels clinked against the linoleum floor and Toni felt the palm of her hand press to her back, moving up, and she began massaging the base of her neck with her thumb.

“I asked for a plan.” Toni’s shoulders fell with a sigh.

"His school has before and aftercare. I’ll drive him in the morning and pick him up after school. I’m sure Pop will let him chill in a booth upstairs while I’m working in the speakeasy.”

“What about school for you? You won’t be late, will you?”

“As long as I make it back before second period I won’t rack up absences.” Toni turned and gently took Cheryl’s face in her hand. “Babe, this isn’t new for us. I’ve got it handled.”

“Maybe I can help. I could drive him a couple times a week or pick him up?”

“No, he’s my brother, my responsibility. Plus you have to be on a list; it’s a whole thing.” Toni’s hands dropped to Cheryl’s waist, pulling her closer and nuzzled into the crook of her neck. “There is one thing you help me with.”

“Oh, yeah? And what’s that?” She giggled at Toni's breathe tickling her neck.

“Come take a nap with me.”

“You’ve been up for like two hours.”

“Cut me some slack I had a late night.” Toni took Cheryl’s hand into her own leading her down the hall to the bedroom with the bed with no sheets. “Fuck, the sheets are still in the washer.”

“I’ll switch them over.” Toni lied down on the naked mattress rubbing her palms on her eyes, then stared at the stained ceiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I'll get back to studying. Fun Fact: Trephination is the prehistoric practice where you drill a hole in someone's head to release the demons (AKA metal illness). Today there's therapy and medication; it's a much safer and effective practice. 
> 
> If you liked this (or didn't) please feel free to comment.


	3. Chapter 3

She spent her fifteenth birthday just like all the others (as if it were any other day, but with cake) at her grandparent’s trailer. She was sitting in her grandmother’s electric wheel chair fiddling with the joystick, turning in circles, chatting with her when she heard her grandfather calling for her from outside. He pulled a canvas tarp away revealing some rusted out trash that was once a motorcycle he bought from Junkyard Steve.

“It needs some work, but I think we can get her into fighting shape,” Grandfather said opening his arms as Toni ran to him. “I’m going to teach you everything I know, baby girl.” He kissed the top of her head. Over the next year the elderly man did just that.

 “You have to learn how to handle shit on your own.” He popped down the visor of Toni’s welding helmet as she clicked the striker, igniting the torch. “Or people will take advantage of you.” Together they transformed the rusted skeleton into something street legal.  

 

 

But on days like today, the icy mist smacked against her face as she blew down the highway, a car would have been more practical. She could feel Thomas trembling as he clung around her waist.

The sun was starting peek through the blanket of clouds as she pulled in the drop off line. Outside the door a teacher stood, bundled up in a puffy coat, greeting them with a smile and an umbrella. Thomas jumped off the bike and booked it towards the door, but the rubber soul of his shoe caught on the ground tripping him up a bit.

“Good morning,” she said handing Toni a clipboard to sign. “Antoinette, we tried calling home, hoping to get in contact with your mother, but no one’s answered. We have some concerns about Thomas. Do you know when she’ll be available?”

“What’s going on?”

“This is really a conversation I should have with your mother.”

“Her work schedule’s been really weird lately. If you tell me I’ll make sure she knows.” The woman paused, looking back at the ever growing line of cars behind the motorcycle.

“It’s about his clothes. We’ve noticed his winter coat is a little big on him and he’s in need of some new shoes.”

“The coat’s mine, he just likes wearing it, so I let him. And he has shoes. I– Mom bought him a pair two months, but I’ll make sure he wears them.” The car behind them tapped their horn.

“Please, have your mother call us,” the teacher said as she moved on to the other families and Toni started her bike to race back to Riverdale.

 

 

Cheryl’s heel bounced, clacking against hardwood floor as she watched the other students pile in the classroom, her focus breaking only to steal a glance at her phone. She had two minutes.

‘hit traffic ... cover for me’

Cheryl stood up, straightening out her maroon skirt, and made her way to the front of the class. The tenured teacher sat at her desk; her bifocals perched on the tip of her nose with a red pen in hand marking up their term papers. She peered from the top of glasses when she heard the sound of Cheryl’s heels coming towards her and groaned.

“What is the excuse today?” Miss Haggly said. “Actually, don’t even start. I really don’t want to hear it.”

“Miss Haggly-“

“This is the third day in a row. I cannot allow for this behavior to continue. If Miss Topaz is not in this classroom when the bell rings, without a note, I’m marking her as absent. If you are so concerned for your girlfriend, Miss Blossom, I suggest you stop enabling her poor behavior.” Miss Haggly went back to looking over their term papers.

“You don’t understand.” She wouldn’t look up.

“Go take your seat.” She couldn’t confess the real reason for Toni’s tardiness, so with pursed lips she did as she was told.

 

The classroom lights were dimmed; Miss Haggly was seated at her desk flipping through her slides on the Louisiana Purchase, when door slowly creaked open and Toni snuck through the crack, and made her way to her seat in the back.

“I’m happy to have you join us today, Miss Topaz,” Miss Haggly said. Reggie led some of the class through a chorus of ‘Ohh’s.’ “I suggest to you stay behind after class we need to have a little talk.” Toni sunk down in her seat not even bothering to pull out her notebook as her teacher returned back to lecturing.

 

 

Toni was examining the red splotches around her mouth and nose in the mirror in Cheryl’s locker.

 “I need carmax for my whole face,” Toni said peeling a bit of dried skin off her crackling lips.

“You shouldn’t pick,” Cheryl said as she dug around her makeup bag for some chapstick. “You can take my car; it’s too cold for you to drive all that way. I can take my motorcycle to school.”

“And have your face looking like mine? No ma’am. Plus, and no offense, but I don’t need to add a hospital trip to my to-do list.”

“Excuse me?”

“Long Beach?”

“I-”

“Yeah, and that road was as dry as my face.” Toni turned with a smile, resting against the cold metal as she held out the tube cherry flavored balm for Cheryl to take back. “But can I borrow it this afternoon. I’ve got to swing by their apartment to grab some more of Thomas’s clothes. I could use the truck space.”

“Totally, and I’ll come too.” Cheryl leaned in to taste her cherry lips. “I miss you.”

“Babe, you see me every day.” Toni went in for another kiss, but Cheryl held back.

“I see you in passing.” The bell rang.

“Fuck, I can’t be late again.” Toni grabbed her bag from the ground and rushed down the hall to her next class, leavening the locker wide open. Cheryl slammed it shut and stomped off in the opposite direction towards the gym.

 

 

 

Toni was hunched over in the passenger seat flipping back and forth through her text trying to figure out how to work through logarithms. She has missed class every day this week and even though she diligently listened to the recording of the lecture gave Cheryl her, once the equation deviated from the example in the slightest she was lost. After this set of workbook problem there was still hours worth of assignments left she had trudge through before she could help Thomas with his, and then there was dinner and laundry. For a kiss she could get Cheryl to write her French essay, if only she could get away with letting her give the oral report on Monday as well.

The tip of her pencil snapped off against the workbook when the car jolted from a pothole. Cheryl continued yammering on about Ginger who came waltzing into cheer practice yesterday afternoon sporting a smile that quickly faded once Cheryl caught sight of her newly bleached bangs.

                “I told her to leave,” Cheryl said taking a quick look at her phone to skip a song. “Honestly, she should stop all her bitching and thank me. It would have been morally wrong not to tell her hair looked as ugly as homemade sin.” She skipped through a few more until Barbra Streisand’s voice came belting out of the speakers. But it was cut short.

                “Babe, I’m really trying to focus here,” Toni said pulling an extra pen from her bag then turned back to her textbook.  She was regretting letting Cheryl talk her into taking a full load of AP courses. They were together in every core class, but the cost of the course load was almost too heavy to bear.

                “Coach Pacer pulled me aside today,” Cheryl said tapping out a quick text to Josie, drifting onto rumble strip along the side of highway. She swerved back into the lane when Toni swiped the phone from her hand, dropping it into the side pocket of the door.

                “What about?”

                “You.”

“Me?”

                “Someone, my bet is on Ginger. Petty bitch. Anyway she blabbed that you haven’t been to practice all week. Couch Pacer said if you don’t come to practice tomorrow I have to bench you.”

“Cher-“

“I tried explaining how unfair she was being. You know Friday’s routine, God, you chorographic it.”

“Babe.”

“It’s total bullshit, right?”

“Actually, taking a break doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.”

“What?”

“I don’t mean forever, everything is just too much right now with Thomas. If I was anyone else on the team, you would have my head on platter.”

“Fine, I’ll tell Coach in the morning.” For the last stretch of the trip the two girls were silent. Toni flipped through the glossy pages of the textbook; her pen pressed firmly against her forehead trying to remember the next step in the equation. Cheryl focused all her attention on the road, hit the blinker, and took the exit to Centerville.

Once Thomas was picked up and buckled in, they took the turn over the railroad tracks down to the apartment complex.

 

Toni stopped beside the door beside lawn chair dusted with cigarette ashes; she riffled through her pockets till she found the key and opened the door. Cheryl wrinkled her nose at the smell of the place; the air was stale and there was something else she couldn’t identify, as is the place was dusted with ammonia or maybe it was vinegar. It was small, almost too small for two people; the living room and kitchen was all one space then a little opening to the left that led to the bedroom and bathroom. The furniture was sparse and tattered; a random collection of pieces recovered from the side of the road. And everything was littered with trash or dirtied clothes.

Toni tapped Thomas on the shoulder, pushing him inside and told him to start looking, but he fell back onto the armchair, picking at a tear in the faux leather. Cheryl refused to touch anything with her hands, instead just kicked about the room while Toni flipped up cushions looking for her brother’s shoes.

“Where is the last place you had them?” Toni said tossing a couple of beer cans into the overflowing trash can.

“On my feet,” Thomas said. Even Cheryl snickered at the smart remark.

“Can you get up and help me look.” Thomas didn’t answer or move from his spot on the chair; instead he rolled the bottom of his shoe so the soul pulled back, away from the shoe and watched it flip back in place. “Are they even here?” Still nothing from the young boy. “Thomas? Did someone steal your shoes?”

“You left the receipt in the box,” he finally mumbled.

“What?”

“She returned them!” Cheryl grabbed the duffle bag they brought and left for the bedroom, leaving the two in the middle of an argument. The bedroom was no different than the living room; there was a bare, stained mattress that was thrown on the floor; Cheryl started shuffling through the clothes on the ground, putting what she assumed was Thomas’s into the bag. She grabbed a pair of basketball shorts and there she realized what that smell was: urine. She dropped the shorts and rushed out of the room to the kitchen sink, hitting the soap pump, but nothing was coming out.

“Sorry,” Thomas said.

“It’s not your fault, buddy,” Toni said pulling her brother into her arms. He sniffled, choking back the tears that started to well up. “Come on let’s get out of here. Babe, you coming?”

“Yeah, just give me a moment,” Cheryl said as she dug around her purse for her hand sanitizer and followed the two out of the apartment, duffle bag in hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you've enjoyed this so far. Anyway feel free to comment what you liked it or didn't. 
> 
> Also if anyone knows how to properly indent please tell me. I keep hitting tabs and it brings me to the bottom of the page instead on indenting the paragraph.


	4. Chapter 4

Later that evening, Toni was sitting at the kitchen table with Thomas as he worked through a  fractions worksheet. 

“What do you think of these?” Toni said as she slid her phone across the table to Thomas; she had the tab opened up to an all black Mal-Mart brand sneakers.

“Why Mal-Mart?” Thomas said with a crinkled nose.

“You think I’m made of money or something?”

“Not you, but…” Thomas shrugged, glancing over to Cheryl working diligently on Toni’s French essay on the sofa. His sister pulled her phone from his hand, leaning in close and lowered her voice so Cheryl wouldn’t hear.

“Cheryl is not your personal checkbook and don’t you ever ask her for anything. Am I clear?”

“Yeah, whatever.” Thomas went back to shading in the cubes on his math worksheet.

“What size are you?”

“Six.”

“A six? Well, damn I’d have to buy you new shoes anyway.” The redhead lifted her arms above her head, arching her back into a stretch, before rising from the couch, laptop in hand.

“All done. I tried to make it as simple as possible, but please, practice before you get up in front of the class,” Cheryl said resting the computer in front of Toni then moving sit onto her lap, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend’s neck. “Now where’s my kiss?” Toni giggled, leaning in to give her what she owed and little more. Thomas threw his pencil down and pushed his chair back away from the table as he shouted that he was finally finished.

“Make sure that gets in your bag. Tonight,” Toni said. “Babe, can I borrow you’re debit card? I don’t have the time to run to the store.”

“Of course,” Cheryl said getting up to retrieve her purse that was hanging from a set of antlers pinned to the wall amongst various coats and keys.

“I thought she wasn’t a human checkbook?” Thomas said smugly.

“I don’t have a debit card, smartass,” Toni said. “What do you want me to do? Shove the cash in a usb port?” She tried to get one once, but the bank required her uncle’s approval since she was still a minor. It had been more than a year since she last saw him, he was handing her a roll of trash bags and told her she had an hour to leave his home; there was no way she’d get him to come to the bank for her.

“Eww, Mal-Mart?” Cheryl said handing the card over.

“That’s what I said,” Thomas said.

“And I said hush your mouth,” Toni snapped back. Pulling her wallet from her back pocket, she didn’t have the exact change, so she counted out a little more than what the shoes were worth and folded the much thinner wallet back into her pocket. Taking the money, Cheryl walked back over to the rack, and she turned her head quickly to see Toni was busy checking out then slipped the cash into the pocket of the leather jacket beside her purse.

“Walk me out?” Cheryl said pulling her purse onto her shoulder. Toni took a screenshot of the receipt as she followed Cheryl out the door, grabbing her denim jacket as she told Thomas he ‘better be in the shower when she comes back.’ Hand in hand the two girls walked down the ramp to the red convertible sitting out on the lawn.

“Are you still coming to the game on Friday?” Cheryl said.

“I don’t think Thomas will ever forgive me if we missed it,” Toni said.

“Are you still sleeping over?”

“Not this week.”

“Of course you aren’t.” Cheryl picked up her pace, dropping Toni’s hand as she fumbled through her purse for her keys. She was reaching for the handle when Toni caught the sleeve of her coat. 

“Cher, what’s wrong?” A lump built up in her throat. Toni tugged at her arm, but she refused to face her. “Babe?”

“I never see you anymore.”

“I’ve been busy.” She finally turned around, but looked past Toni, staring into the blue buzzing light of the bug zapper hanging from the porch. She hated how her emotions were getting the best of her in the moment, but Toni had been so distant lately. All week they’re only interactions were curt greetings and goodbyes as they passed by each other in the hallways. The car ride was the first time they had an actual conversation and even then she wasn’t sure Toni was listening.

“I understand that you’ve been busy, but what I don’t understand is why you can’t spend just one night with me.”

“Thistlehouse can be a bit … stuffy and I’m not sure Thomas would be comfortable there.”

“I’m sorry you find it so suffocating.”

“Don’t put words in my mouth.” Toni said sternly and with a huff, Cheryl turned sharply back to her car, but was caught around the waist. “Babe?”

“TT, please?” Toni pulled her in closer, holding on tightly; Cheryl hesitated to return the hug, but then the two girls held on to each other.

“Okay.”

“Really?” Cheryl felt Toni nod her head.

Cheryl pulled Toni in for one last kiss before pulling the car door shut. Toni watched as the taillights turned onto the highway and then headed inside only to find Thomas lounging on the recliner, playing on his gameboy instead of showering.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be in the last chapter, but I couldn't get the ending right. I still don't like it, but I'm tired of looking at it and I want to move on. 
> 
> Anyway I hope you liked it. And even if you didn't feel free to comment, I'm very open to critiques. Enjoy!


End file.
